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Job Design for Human and Organisational Sustainability in the Context of Emerging Technologies

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Psychology of Sustainability and Sustainable Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2022) | Viewed by 19467

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Živilė Stankevičiūtė

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Economics and Business, Kaunas University of Technology, LT-44249 Kaunas, Lithuania
Interests: sustainable human resource management; employee well-being; digital transformation; sustainable business model; corporate sustainability; job desing; job insecurity; employee resilience

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last decade, rapid technological advancement has induced substantial changes of work, sometimes referred to as the changing world of work. Evidence from various industries demonstrates that a growing number of organisations have been recently adapting and using the emerging technologies in search for faster production time, lower costs, expanded production/service capacity  and ultimately improved competitiveness. Rapid growth in the use of AI, robots, smartphones or other technologies enables the organisations not only to automate simple and repetitive tasks such as factory operations and numerous back-office duties; it also opens avenues for making complex decisions quickly and more accurately via predictive algorithms. Moreover, emerging technologies are increasingly used to arrange and implement more flexible working practices in terms of remote, virtual and gig work. Given this, the changes in job design, which refers to the content and organisation of one’s work activities, tasks, responsibilities and relationships, are more than evident. More specifically, the characteristics of job design in terms of task characteristics (e.g., autonomy, task significance), knowledge characteristics (e.g., job complexity, skill variety), social characteristics (e.g., feedback, social support) and work context characteristics (e.g., work conditions, ergonomics) have been altering as a result of intensive adoption of emerging technologies in working settings.

Previous literature has supported the notion that these changes might elicit a dual (positive and negative) effect on employees as well as on business, diminishing or, on the contrary, enhancing human and organisational sustainability. Still, a considerable amount of questions need more attention from scientific as well practitioners’ point of view. Some of them are provided below: How to organise the activities of workers and arrange their duties without the negative consequences while working with emerging technologies? What about task variety, task identity or feedback concerning performance when humans interact with technologies? How to deal with job complexity, information processing, problem solving, skill variety or specialisation when human beings are responsible for some duties, while technologies perform other functions? What about social support, interdependence, interaction outside the organisation and feedback from others while dealing with robots or other emerging technologies and seeking to preserve the human sustainability? How to manage employee motivation and well-being at work ensuring that technologies do not harm the humans and, in turn, the organisation vitality, longevity and performance? Generally speaking, what should the job design look like and what is the role of line managers in ensuring the human and organisational sustainability while working surrounded by the emerging technologies?

This Special Issue is aimed at gaining theoretical knowledge and empirical evidence on arranging and implementing job design while addressing the context of emerging technologies and striving to ensure human and organisational sustainability. This emerging field of research encourages scientists from different scientific fields to contribute to bringing together the ideas and insights on a wide range of issues in the fields of job design, human sustainability, organisational sustainability and emerging technologies.

Dr. Živilė Stankevičiūtė
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • job design
  • employee well-being
  • emerging technologies
  • robots
  • human-robot interaction
  • smartphone use
  • automation
  • robotisation
  • job demands and job resources
  • feedback
  • job complexity
  • skill variety
  • problem solving
  • social support
  • job autonomy
  • task significance, task clarity, task identity
  • AI
  • human sustainability
  • performance
  • role of line managers
  • ergonomics
  • work conditions

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Editorial

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3 pages, 160 KiB  
Editorial
Job Design for Human and Organisational Sustainability in the Context of Emerging Technologies
by Živilė Stankevičiūtė
Sustainability 2023, 15(5), 4438; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054438 - 2 Mar 2023
Viewed by 1560
Abstract
This Special Issue of Sustainability is dedicated to highlighting theoretical knowledge and recent empirical evidence on the arrangement and implementation of job design, while addressing the context of emerging technologies and striving to ensure human and organisational sustainability [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Job Design for Human and Organisational Sustainability in the Context of Emerging Technologies)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

27 pages, 2371 KiB  
Article
A Proposed Approach to Monitor and Control Sustainable Development Strategy Implementation
by Oriana Helena Negulescu, Anca Draghici and Gabriela Fistis
Sustainability 2022, 14(17), 11066; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141711066 - 5 Sep 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2735
Abstract
Due to the actual level of carbon emissions, climate change causes disruptions in business process development and also affects human health. The obvious solution, which will ensure a future for the coming generations, is related to sustainable development (SD). Furthermore, by the effective [...] Read more.
Due to the actual level of carbon emissions, climate change causes disruptions in business process development and also affects human health. The obvious solution, which will ensure a future for the coming generations, is related to sustainable development (SD). Furthermore, by the effective intervention of ergonomics in organizational processes, risk management and social aspects will improve. In this article, we argue that it is not enough to only define an effective approach to greening an organization—managers and leaders need effective tools to monitor and control the implementation of the proposed approach. Thus, with this article, we aim to bring theoretical and applicative contributions to SD management and to propose a conceptual model for green companies based on an integrated management strategy and a complex assessment model (the LeadSUS assessment methodology). In the first phase, the proposed methodology is developed based on qualitative theoretical research, analysis, comparison, deductions, and conceptualization. The research results highlight important issues for defining the Green Enterprise Model, which is based on elements of the integrated strategy definition. In the second phase, the model, together with an associated methodology for the assessment of SD maturity level, supports the process of monitoring and controlling the implementation of the strategy. This approach is intended to create the conditions for the integrated management strategy and green enterprise configuration models. Furthermore, three case studies validate the proposed approach. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Job Design for Human and Organisational Sustainability in the Context of Emerging Technologies)
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14 pages, 811 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Safety Attitudes on Coal Miners’ Human Errors: A Moderated Mediation Model
by Lixia Niu and Rui Zhao
Sustainability 2022, 14(16), 9917; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14169917 - 11 Aug 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2056
Abstract
With the advancement of digital technology, the operation scenarios and work of miners have changed. Although the rate of accidents caused by unsafe conditions is decreasing year by year, the rate of accidents caused by human errors is still high. To investigate the [...] Read more.
With the advancement of digital technology, the operation scenarios and work of miners have changed. Although the rate of accidents caused by unsafe conditions is decreasing year by year, the rate of accidents caused by human errors is still high. To investigate the influencing factors of miners’ human errors in the context of smart mines, based on the attitude–behavior model, this paper introduced two variables, situational awareness and task complexity, and established a moderated mediation model to explore the path of safety attitudes on human errors. Using time-lagged data from 246 full-time miners working at smart mines, we found that miners’ safety attitudes were effective in reducing human errors, miners’ safety attitudes reduced human errors through the mediation of situational awareness, and task complexity enhanced the positive relationship between safety attitudes and situational awareness, thus positively moderating the indirect relationship between safety attitudes and human errors. The findings advance a new understanding of how safety attitudes can reduce miners’ human errors. They also provide practical implications on the importance of leadership and finding ways to promote situational awareness as well as maintaining good safety attitudes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Job Design for Human and Organisational Sustainability in the Context of Emerging Technologies)
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18 pages, 1976 KiB  
Article
The Mediating Role of Safety Climate in the Relationship between Transformational Safety Leadership and Safe Behavior—The Case of Two Companies in Turkey and Romania
by Anca Draghici, Salih Dursun, Oğuz Bașol, Maria Elena Boatca and Alin Gaureanu
Sustainability 2022, 14(14), 8464; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148464 - 11 Jul 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4147
Abstract
Safety leadership, safe behavior, and safety climate, which are important parts of occupational safety culture, are important in terms of preventing occupational accidents and making the working environment ergonomic. In this context, this study aims to examine the mediating effect of the safety [...] Read more.
Safety leadership, safe behavior, and safety climate, which are important parts of occupational safety culture, are important in terms of preventing occupational accidents and making the working environment ergonomic. In this context, this study aims to examine the mediating effect of the safety climate on the relationship between transformational leadership and safe behavior. Research was carried out with 287 participants working in two manufacturing plants, one from Turkey and one from Romania. The two data sets were consolidated into a single database (both companies being providers of manufacturing products for the same client in the automotive industry) and were analyzed using the Preacher and Hayes plugin in the SPSS 21 package program because of the research interest in investigating safety behavior in the manufacturing field. The results of the analysis showed that the safety climate had a partial mediating effect on the relationship between transformational leadership and safe behavior. In addition, the study results demonstrated that transformational safety leadership has a significant influence on employees’ perceptions of safety climate and plays an important role in occupational safety-related behaviors. Research results were helpful for practitioners (managers in both companies) and researchers in understanding the importance of safety-climate and transformational safety leadership practices in increasing occupational safety-related behaviors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Job Design for Human and Organisational Sustainability in the Context of Emerging Technologies)
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12 pages, 2000 KiB  
Article
A Case Study on the Assessment of Chemical and Physical Pollution Levels during the Copying Process
by Vaida Vasiliauskienė and Aidas Vasilis Vasiliauskas
Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1287; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031287 - 24 Jan 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2806
Abstract
In accordance with sustainable development goals (SDG’s), urgent action should be taken to make the societal and natural environments better for human beings. People spend most of their time indoors, therefore growing attention is devoted to address indoor air pollution. When the sources [...] Read more.
In accordance with sustainable development goals (SDG’s), urgent action should be taken to make the societal and natural environments better for human beings. People spend most of their time indoors, therefore growing attention is devoted to address indoor air pollution. When the sources of anthropogenic indoor air pollution (copiers, laser printers) are operated indoors, then chemical and physical indoor air pollution may be higher than air pollution outdoors. Ozone, aerosol particles and volatile organic compounds are the result of pollution caused by copiers and printers. The research was carried out in a copying room by recording chemical (ozone and aerosol particles) and physical (noise) environmental pollution. To determine instantaneous ozone concentrations in the copying room, an ozone analyzer O3 41M was used, while to evaluate the effect of ozone on the ambient air of the copying room, passive samplers were used. To determine the number and concentration of aerosol particles in the ambient air of the office, a particle counter AZ-5 was used. In addition, a DrDAQ data logger was used to measure noise emitted by the copier and ambient temperature as well as relative air humidity. It was found that the distribution of ozone and aerosol particles in the copying room was mostly determined by the copying intensity. The maximum concentration of ozone and aerosol particles was determined during automatic copying (91–120 copies/min). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Job Design for Human and Organisational Sustainability in the Context of Emerging Technologies)
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19 pages, 1864 KiB  
Article
Ensuring Employee Job Security When Implementing Changes in the Company: A Case Study of Lithuanian Industry
by Asta Valackiene, Ieva Meidute-Kavaliauskiene and Renata Činčikaitė
Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8383; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158383 - 27 Jul 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4847
Abstract
The process of companies undertaking adaptation in the face of changing conditions that have been influenced by factors such as globalization, technological changes, environmental changes, competition, political decisions, worker mobility, population structure, and so on is one of the major challenges of modern [...] Read more.
The process of companies undertaking adaptation in the face of changing conditions that have been influenced by factors such as globalization, technological changes, environmental changes, competition, political decisions, worker mobility, population structure, and so on is one of the major challenges of modern corporate governance. Changes in a company are inevitable, but they do not always directly correlate with employees’ sense of security, including whether an employee feels safe about their workplace, income, or future roles in the company in the face of potential changes. There is an inverse relationship between employees’ sense of security and their time spent with the company. One way of managing this that can help to ensure a sense of security for employees within the company is to directly involve them in the process of implementing changes in the organization. The main goal of this paper is to highlight the principal aspects of employee engagement in change management processes and to gain an increased level of understanding in terms of the implementation of change at the organizational level by involving employees. Research methods: a systematic and comparative analysis of concepts and methods that have been published in the available scientific literature, statistical processing, an instrumental case study, interviews, surveys, and a content analysis of strategic documents, followed by modeling. The theoretical contribution of the paper demonstrates construction of methodology guided by the emergent perspective and new theoretical insights on professional discourse. Practical input shows that employee involvement in change processes is directly related to the speed of strategic change in the company. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Job Design for Human and Organisational Sustainability in the Context of Emerging Technologies)
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